Here's a list of what's open and closed on Easter weekend

Some things will change this long Easter weekend, but some won't. Here's a list of what's open and closed this Good Friday.

If there's any doubt, call the business in question to double check; or, if there's a question about a municipal service, call the 3-1-1 hotline to reach your city or town.

SHOPPING

Most retail stores, malls, and supermarkets should be open Friday and Monday, but most retailers usually take Easter Sunday off. Some smaller retail stores — including dépanneurs — generally remain open, though the decision to open or not rests with the owner.

Drug stores don't have to close, and chances are most won't — though they may amend their hours.

Grocery stores larger than 375 square metres will not open on Easter Sunday. The smaller ones can open at will, though again, their hours may be different from their usual ones.

SAQ outlets will operate normally on Friday, Saturday and Monday. On Easter Sunday, only the Express and most Classique stores will be open — provided they're not located in a shopping mall that's closed.

Public markets, including the Atwater, Jean-Talon and Bonsecours markets, will be open all weekend.

Banks generally close on Good Friday, but should reopen on Easter Monday.

GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Every federal and provincial office and service counter will be closed Friday and Monday, as will just about every municipal office — including borough offices, Accès Montreal offices and other points of service. The municipal courthouse will also be closed throughout the long weekend.

The city's Ecocentres will be open on Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but closed on Monday.

Garbage and recycling pickup should be on in most boroughs and towns, but again, you may want to call 3-1-1 to double-check, just in case there are surprises.

There will be no mail pickup or delivery on Friday or Monday. Post offices are closed both Friday and Monday, though postal counters at drug stores and other private businesses will be open according to the host business' hours of service.

THINGS TO DO

The Botanical Garden, Planetarium and the Pointe-a-Calliere museum are expected to operate normally all weekend.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the McCord Museum will both be closed on Easter Monday, but will open the rest of the weekend.

The Biodome and the Insectarium are closed for renovations (the Biodome won't reopen before this summer; the Insectarium will be out of commission until 2021).

Most restaurants should be operating as normal right through the weekend, though some may change their hours. Many are closed on Mondays as a rule; others may be quite busy on Easter Sunday morning for brunch.

Movie theatres are always open.

The Montreal Science Centre and the IMAX Theatre are open all weekend.

The Casino is open all weekend. It never closes.

The Notre-Dame Basilica and St. Joseph's Oratory are both open.

The ice rink the the Atrium le 1000 usually opens on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (and the Saturday, too). It doesn't appear this year will be an exception.

GETTING AROUND

As is always the case, parking meters will operate at all times, and all parking restrictions in the city of Montreal will remain in effect. No exceptions.

Buses and metros will run on holiday schedules on Friday and Monday, while Exo commuter trains will switch to a Sunday schedule on Good Friday. (The lines which don't usually run on Sundays will be out of service.)

Commuter trains will run on their normal schedules on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, however — track maintenance will affect service on three of the lines: trains on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line will only run between Vaudreuil and Dorval stations; trains on the St. Jerome line on Monday will run only between St. Jerome and Parc, except for trains 170 and 171 which will run as far as the Montreal West station; and also on Monday, trains on the Candiac line will run between Candiac and Montreal West only. (For more information, visit the Exo web site.)

If you are one of the thousands of metro riders who strain to hang onto the horizontal bars on the new Azur trains or can't even reach them - there may be a solution on the way. The STM is testing today plastic hand straps attached to the grab rails.